


Off The Deep End

by RebeccaRosewood



Category: H2O: Just Add Water
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mermen, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Other, dont ask me why but its the majority of the fanfiction i read, merman, mermen aus are kinda my thing, specifically merman lewis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26107762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaRosewood/pseuds/RebeccaRosewood
Summary: Merman Lewis AU. Alternate Season 1 where Lewis had Mer powers for a year before the girls did. Follow Lewis as he learns to accept what happened to him and as he faces off against people planning to expose their secret.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	1. Metamorphosis and Pool Party

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my first fanfic attempts in a long time, so please be patient with me.  
> Also, I spent a while going back and forth in my head on what his power should be. For a while, he had all three, but for right now I'm keeping it with telekinesis. Also, also, all of them have the invisibility power from Mako Mermaids.  
> (og notes from Fanfiction.net)

Lewis tried to play dumb but his heartbeat quickened. “Did Cleo really just... ask me that? I've been so careful, how did she catch on?”

"No... I don't know anything about… mermaids." He tried to sound convincing, but he wasn't sure if he had succeeded or not. 

"Okay, sorry, bye." Cleo pushed him out the door, locking it promptly behind him.

Lewis shook his head in disbelief. If Cleo had discovered his secret, he’d need to talk to her about it asap. Making a mental note to meet her sometime privately, he walked out to the Juicenet Cafe. Choosing a booth after ordering and receiving a drink, Lewis thought over the day’s events. 

======================================================

About an hour of working on his homework had gone by when Cleo had entered. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on Lewis.

“Hey, Lewis… Listen, I just want to talk to you about the mermaid comment.” Cleo nervously stated after walking towards him. 

“Oh?” He had a deer in headlights look as he stared at Cleo waiting for her to continue. If she had noticed his suspicious behavior she didn’t mention it.

She turned her head avoiding his gaze, “I just thought you’d know about them.”

Lewis’s heartbeat quickened, “Why would I know about them?”

“Well, you’re smart. I just thought you’d know something. It’s for this mythology project I have… that’s all.” As she spoke, Cleo scratched the back of her neck. It was a nervous tick she had, unfortunately for her, Lewis picked up on it immediately.

“You.. don’t take mythology...” Lewis looked at her. He wasn’t trying to be accusatory, but Cleo began to feel interrogated from his confused stare.

Her face contorted into a nervous smile as she realized she was caught lying. “Did I say my project? I meant a friend’s project! I misspoke.” 

“Right… uhh. It’s fine,” Lewis tried to change the subject, “Do you want to reschedule your lesson?”

“Yeah, usual time tomorrow?”

“That works just fine, see you then Cleo.”

“Bye.” 

There was a nagging thought in the back of Lewis’s head. Something was definitely up with Cleo, but he wasn’t sure exactly what it was. Her behavior almost reminded him of himself just a year prior. Lewis had been night fishing on a perfect full moon. A choice he’d regret forever. For whatever reason, he had found himself exploring Mako when he’d fallen down a cave system. Seeing no other exit, he followed the cave into an opening with a pool connecting out towards the ocean. It was terrible timing, really, how he dove in headfirst just as the moon had passed overhead. 

Lewis pushed the memory into the back of his brain, it wasn’t something he enjoyed being reminded of. But, he couldn’t help but think that when it happened he had acted so much like Cleo was now. Nervous, vague, researching mermaids. “Strange.”

======================================================

He looked out across the canal. It was late, despite that fact, Lewis couldn’t sleep. Last night had been especially tiring for him. The full moon usually caused him troubles but it was even worse then. He sensed something was going on at Mako, but he was too scared to go out and confront it. “When’s the last time I’ve even gone swimming?” He asked himself. Though he hardly needed to, he already knew the answer. 

The first month Lewis had a tail he spent all of his time trying to find a way to be normal again. After a while, he gave up. Being too afraid of facing how much of a freak he was, he vowed to never touch water again, save for bathing, and the occasional accidental splashes. Despite this, he still felt the pull towards the water. Sighing, he stood up and walked back inside. 

======================================================

Lewis dragged himself toward school. After spending the whole night tossing and turning, he wondered how he was going to get through the day. Walking up to Cleo’s locker, he heard the tail end of Miriam's party announcement. “Hey Cleo, you going to the party?” 

She looked hesitant at first, finally shaking her head while saying, “No, sorry I don’t think I can go.”

Lewis turned away, trying to hide the dejected look on his face, “Right, yeah why would anyone want to go to that kind of thing anyway?” 

Cleo barely even registered that he said something, her mind was somewhere else, “Sorry Lewis, I've got to get to class.” But she turned in the opposite direction of her next class, instead, she moved towards the spot where Emma and Rikki stood further down the hall. Thus leaving Lewis staring quizzically after her “What's up with you?”

======================================================

Many hours had passed since Lewis and Cleo had spoken face-to-face. Since then Cleo had continuously changed her answer about going to Miriam’s party about a dozen times. And he had just about enough of it. He already made up his mind. Regardless of what Cleo said, he wouldn’t be going. It was a stupid thought, really. That he of all people could attend a pool party, but also that Cleo would ever see him as more than a study partner. 

Dejected, Lewis made his way to his secret fishing spot. He had used it for years, although the need for it increased once he realized it was the only safe spot he had to fish. Fishing was, of course, a decidedly wet sport. And, unfortunately for him, he wasn’t able to spend time participating in his favorite hobby without growing fins. That made his fishing secret spot the only safe place for Lewis to fish. And it remained that way because Lewis had only ever told one person of its whereabouts. Which basically guaranteed that he could go there and be alone. Alone. Which made it extra weird when he noticed two blonde heads poking up from behind a rock.

“Um… Hello?” Lewis called out, slightly upset that he wouldn’t be able to fish.

The two heads whipped around revealing the faces of Emma and Rikki. Their eyes widened in surprise and they quickly looked at each other. “Lewis! Uh, we hadn’t expected someone to show up!.” Emma yelled back, shakily.

“Neither did I, Only Cleo and I know about this place. I guess she told you then.” Lewis responded, slightly pissed at Cleo’s big mouth.

“Yeah, she did. Speaking of Cleo, do you know where she is?” Rikki asked, a slight edge in her voice.

“No, she’s been so confusing lately, one minute she’s going to the party and the next she's not,” Lewis’ phone buzzed in his pocket. After pulling it out and checking the message he sighed, “Uhg! Again! Now she’s going.” 

“You need to call her, now! Tell her under no circumstances is she going!” Emma urgently explained.

“No, I came here to fish. You two shouldn’t even be here.” Nevertheless, he dialed Cleo’s number, “You know this is my spot for a reason, I need it.” 

“Yea? For what? You can just fish off the pier like everyone else.” Rikki spat back.

Lewis just rolled his eyes, he knew he couldn't explain more to Rikki, besides he had to get in touch with Cleo. “She's not answering.”

The girls shared another quick glance before Emma responded, “Lewis do us a favor, please go to that party and make sure Cleo never gets in the pool.”

“Fine, whatever, not like I can fish anyway.” And with that, Lewis started jogging his way to Miriam’s house.

======================================================

“I shouldn’t be here. It’s too risky,” Lewis thought to himself as he headed to Miriam’s party. And yet, he felt a pull towards it. The strange unmistakable pull he felt towards the moon pool, and to Mako every full moon after that. He ran to the back yard just in time to see Zane and his lackeys about to throw Cleo into the pool. 

“Let her down, Zane”

Zane let out a chuckle, “Well, if you insist.” Cleo was thrown into the pool.

“What an ass,” Lewis thought as all the party-goers left to go inside.

“Cleo, I’m sorry about this,” Lewis said while kneeling down to speak to her.

“Lewis, there’s something you should know.”

“No, it’s okay you don’t have to explain any-”

“No. Really, Lewis it’s important.” Cleo looked up, fear evident in her eyes. At that moment, her legs gave way to a golden tail. “Please, Lewis. I need your help.”  
Everything clicked at once. The weird feeling he had last full moon, Cleo’s sudden interest in mermaids as well as her strange behavior. She had been turned. 

“I can’t- I-I don’t-” Lewis’ eyes looked around frantically, trying to figure out a way to help Cleo without outing himself. He sighed, defeated. The only way was to either grab her, making him grow a tail from her wet hands, or to use his powers. Both resulted in the same outcome. He had to tell her. Mentally preparing himself, he reached out his hand and began to move her onto the concrete siding, her eyes growing larger as she realized Lewis was the one controlling her floating body. 

“How are you-” Cleo was cut off by the arrival of Rikki and Emma. The pair by the pool looked over at the pair standing at the gate. Though Emma could hardly believe her eyes, she snapped back into action. “Where are the other people?” she demanded.

“They’re inside! Distract them, I need more time.” Lewis responded, his attention quickly returning to the task at hand. He moved Cleo onto the pavement, carefully avoiding the puddle forming around her. “I’m gonna go find some towels to dry you off.” 

“I think I can help with that.” Rikki now stood at their side. She moved her hand over Cleo’s tail and began to evaporate the water.

For the second time that day, Lewis struggled to process what he was seeing. “Cleo AND Rikki. Emma too?” His thoughts came out as fragments. He blinked a few times refocusing on Cleo who now had her legs back. By then, Emma had returned. “Come on, we have to go!” She shouted, pulling Lewis from his stupor. They ran out the gated fence, heading out to the fishing spot.

======================================================

The quartet spent a minute catching their breath before Emma started on Lewis. “What was that back there? You have powers and you didn’t tell us!” 

“I- I don’t-” He stuttered.

“No, I think you do. What’s going on?” Rikki continued the attack.

“I, uh…” He sighed, defeated. Another minute of silence hung between them before Lewis finally spoke, “It started a year ago. I was out on Mako one night. I fell into a cave that had this weird pool thing.” The girls shared a look. “Ever since then I’ve had powers… and a... tail.” He said the last part softly, hoping no one would hear him, it did not go unnoticed.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Cleo looked hurt and felt even worse. She understood why he wouldn’t tell many people, but she was his friend. She wanted to tell him what happened to her, why didn’t he want the same? 

“I didn’t know who to trust, so I just didn’t trust anyone.” An uneasy silence sat between the four. “Enough about me, what about you three?’  
Rikki spoke up, “Same story as yours, ‘cept ours was only a couple nights ago.” Her face contorted as she realized something, “Wait, you said powers plural?”

“Just the telekinesis and invisibility. -Though the latter only manifested after the first full moon.”

“You can go invisible, really,” Cleo sounded skeptical, though it was silly of her. She was a f*cking mermaid yet she couldn’t believe that someone could be invisible.  
Lewis nodded his head. He moved his hand across his chest and suddenly disappeared from the girls’ sights. The three of them gaped as Lewis came back into view.

“Riiight, uh anyone else fancy a swim? I need to clear my head from all the weirdness of the day.” Emma chimed in, all too happy to quit talking about Mako.

“I’ll join!” Rikki eagerly jumped in.

Cleo hesitated, but eventually shook her head no, “I’m still not used to this.”

“I’d rather not, bye,” Lewis responded rather bluntly as he turned away.

“Why not?” Rikki asked, surprised at Lewis’ unwillingness to get wet*.

Lewis stopped walking for a second but he still didn’t turn to face them, “I’m no good with this stuff. Forget I ever told you, okay?” Lewis stated as he began walking away again, this time he didn’t stop.

“Hey, wait!” Emma called after him. Afterward, she turned to the other girls.

“What is with him?” Rikki asked.

Cleo only shook her head. She knew that feeling. Even after a whole year of being a fish, he was in denial.


	2. Catch of the Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry for the long wait. I promised this out last week but life happens, you know? I’ve barely got enough time to sleep let alone write a multi-chapter fanfiction. I hope that it never takes this long to get out another chapter, but really who knows.

For the 3rd night in a row, Lewis couldn’t sleep. He would drift off every couple of hours only to awake in a cold sweat not long after. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, and it made a painful memory resurface. 

After finally giving up on getting quality rest, he stood up and walked over to his closet. It was small even by closet standards, but Lewis counted himself lucky for just having his own room. In a house with 4 other brothers, privacy was a delicacy. After opening the door, Lewis removed a floorboard to reveal a well-loved notebook. He sighed looking at it before grimacing. Lewis picked up the notebook and headed for his desk chair. He took a deep breath, and then put on his glasses. He was in for a long night.

* * *

The next morning he trudged his way to school, all while thinking over his notes. Rereading them after all that time had refreshed everything in his mind. Yet, he still didn’t feel any closer to a cure and he had no idea how to tell the girls that. Then, Lewis jolted realizing that, in his stupor, Cleo had been able to sneak up on him. She had said something, but he had been too out of it to know what it was.

“Sorry, what?” Lewis asked.

“I asked you how you were handling… things,” Cleo responded, not quite meeting his gaze.

His expression relaxed, “Yeah, I went over my research last night, just couldn’t sleep. Thought it might help.”

“Research?” Cleo leaned in towards him, an eyebrow raised.

Before Lewis had the chance to respond, Emma and Rikki caught stride with them. “What’s up, mermaid man?” Rikki greeted. Lewis winced at the comment while Emma scolded Rikki for being too loud. 

Lewis quickly regained his lost composure, “We should all meet somewhere private to discuss… things further.” he turned towards Rikki, “Until then, stop being so f*cking obvious about it.” He scowled at her while she gave an amused semi-smile back.

“Since when did you become the mermaid rule dictator, huh?” she remarked in a mocking tone. 

“Since a year ago when I was the only one qualified.” Lewis returned, a stern expression plastered on his face.

Rikki only scoffed and rolled her eyes before she shot back with, “Maybe we should take a vote on it then.”

Emma huffed before finally interjecting, “Will you two quit it already? We really do need to keep this hidden and, yes Rikki, Lewis knows more about this than we do so we should just listen to him.”

Rikki glared at Emma in utter disbelief, “We were only bantering, but you’re on HIS side? Emma, I don’t trust him I barely know him!”

“Well if you had maybe bothered to make more friends then…” Emma’s rebuttal slowly faded into the distance as Cleo and Lewis found themselves separating from the bickering blondes. 

The pair made awkward small talk for a minute before someone called out to them.

“Hey- Have you guys checked out the beach recently?” The pair looked over at Byron, who had joined them in walking.

“No.” Cleo paused, slight panic evident in her voice “why?” she continued, eyeing him suspiciously.

“The sea turtles have started laying their eggs along the beach.” 

“Oh that’s cool,” Lewis replied. He didn’t want to be rude but he had no desire to be stuck in a conversation involving water at that moment.

“Yeah, but I’ve heard that some turtles have gotten caught in fishing nets,” With that, Byron glanced away. There was a group of their classmates calling him over. “Oh- uh, I should get going. See you around.”

“Bye,”

Cleo stared off, hazily, “Those poor turtles…”

“What?” Lewis turned to her, confusion etched in his face. “Cleo, you know your dad runs those fishing boats, right?” 

“Huh? No way.” Cleo stood incredulously.

Lewis shook his head sympathetically. “Afraid not.”

She looked like she was about to protest, but the sound of their school bell cut her off. Looking at each other one last time Cleo and Lewis said their goodbyes as they headed to their respective classes.

* * *

Lewis sat on a rock waiting for the others to join him. School had ended hours prior and the time had come to explain everything. He’d texted them earlier to meet him at his spot as it had the most privacy of anywhere he could think of, save for Mako.

If anyone took more than a passing glance at him, they could tell something was wrong. Lewis looked bad and felt even worse. If he had his way, he’d never have to disclose his secret ever. But he knew that was the selfish part of him thinking, he couldn’t run away from it, not now. Not when Cleo-

His thought was interrupted by the arrival of said girl. “Hey,” she greeted.

“Umm… hi.” He looked past her, ‘Where are the others?”

“I’m not sure actually,” She moved over towards a rock and sat down. They remained like that for a few moments. Both staring at the sand in awkward silence. 

“So… what exactly did you want to discuss? You didn’t seem all that interested in talking the other day, which, by the way, I don’t blame you for” Lewis tuned out Cleo’s nervous rambling. He’d usually find that quality endearing, but it wasn’t helping when he was on the verge of a panic attack himself.

Eventually, Cleo stopped talking and Lewis was able to input into the conversation. “I did a lot of research back then. I copied everything in case you wanted to look through it.”

Cleo nodded in understanding. “So that’s the research you mention-”

“Hey, guys!” They both heard a shout from the water. Startled, they looked over to see Emma waving with Rikki some meters away. Cleo waved back while Lewis averted his eyes.

After Rikki dried herself and Emma, the two of them looked to Lewis expectantly. He felt his mouth go dry, all his mental prep suddenly gone out the window.

“Uhh… right,” was all he could muster out. “So basically. A year ago I did a lot of tests and stuff, trying to find a cure.” Cleo perked up when he said then, only to be let down by his next words, “I couldn’t find one. All my findings are in here,” he said handing his notebook to Cleo. She flipped through it as he continued, “You guys can look over everything. There’s DNA tests, diagrams, ability restrictions… anything I thought to try at the time.”

Rikki deadpanned him, completely uninterested in what he had to say. “Oh. I thought this was going to be more interesting than that.”

If Lewis was honest with himself, he’d actually taken offense to what she’d said. “It  _ is  _ interesting though. I thought you’d want to know more about what happened to you guys?”

“Lewis, if I wanted to know the nitty-gritty details, I would have called a marine biologist and told them, ‘Hey! I’m a mermaid, what do I do now?’ I’m just enjoying swimming, science stuff is boring.” 

“Your attitude is insufferable,” Lewis whines, not for the first time, about why, of all people, did Rikki Chadwick have to get stuck in that  _ stupid _ moon cave. 

“And  _ you’re _ boring. I want to skip to the good part!” Rikki took on an imposing stance that actually managed to work, despite her being the shortest of the group. “I want to see you in the water.” She smirked, knowing she had hit a nerve.

“Rikki, what did I say about being insensitive. Plus, you’re making me lose focus, shut up.” Emma called out from where she and Cleo had been reading his notes. But, it was too late, the damage was done.

Lewis, finally shutting down, left the beach for his house, not even saying goodbye. He usually prided himself on his calm demeanor, but with Rikki’s attitude, the lack of sleep, and Cleo now wrapped up in mer business he had reached his breaking poi- “ _ why am I worried about Cleo?” _ He shook away the thought. His main priority was getting home and passing out for a week. He’d hit his breaking point, and the only thing on his mind was sleep.

* * *

Lewis awoke to a barrage of texts and missed calls from Emma. And he almost went back to sleep. Sitting up, he began to look through them.

Emma tried to call you.

>LEWIS ANSWER THIS IS IMPORTANT 6:23 pm

Emma tried to call you.

Emma tried to call you.

>PICK UP IM SERIOUS 6:24 pm

>ITS ABOUT CLEO 6:24 pm

Emma tried to call you.

>PLEASE 6:25 pm

Emma tried to call you.

Emma tried to call you.

Emma tried to call you.

Emma tried to call you.

>RESPOND WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP 6:27 pm

Emma tried to call you.

Emma tried to call you.

>Nvm. It’s under control, no thanks to you. 6:49 pm

He ran out of the door while dialing Emma. Halfway down his driveway, he realized she had declined. 

You tried to call Emma.

7:02 pm Emns I eas skerpimg wahts gouin oN;<

>What? Lewis if you’re gonna apologize at least make it intelligent. 7:03 pm

He finally slowed to type a response.

7:03 pm I WAS ASLEEP WHAT HAPPENED!<

>Cleo was hurt but she’s okay now. 7:04 pm

Lewis heaved a sigh of relief. 

>Her and Rikki went to Mako. Don’t try to find 

them, we’re all pretty mad at you. 7:05 pm

7:05 pm Why mad? What did I do?<

>I’ll tell you later. 7:07 pm

7:07 pm You can tell me now!<

7:09 pm  Emma?!<

Lewis headed back to his house stunned.  _ Cleo, hurt? Why are they mad at me? She’s swimming? Ughh _ , he felt a headache coming on.

* * *

Emma finally agreed to meet with him at the Cafe before school. He made his way over, feet heavy from exhaustion. 

“Lewis! Over here.” he heard Emma call out from their usual booth. He forced a smile, hoping to lighten her mood. The blond made his way to his seat and slumped down in it.

He exhaled loudly, “So.”

Emma offered a weak smile of her own, “First I would like to apologize.” 

Lewis shook his head, “What, Why?”

“Because, I was unfair to you,” She looked down, choosing her words carefully, “I was angry and I blamed you. It’s not your fault you didn’t when we called. It was an emotional reaction and I’m sorry.”

His eyes widened, “Wow, I- wasn’t expected that.”

“I was taught to always apologize for my mistakes, and it was a mistake blaming you.” She looked up at him, expectantly.

“I uh, accept. But you really didn’t need to- I blame myself as it is.”

“And you shouldn’t. You didn’t know it would happen.”

He let out a small, “thanks.” before asking his main question, “What exactly happened to Cleo? By the way.”

She grimaced, “She saw her dad’s boat fishing in the wrong spot and went after it. But, she got caught in the net and passed out. She’s really lucky- we’re all really lucky Rikki and I saw her when we did.”

“Then what was up with the frantic texts?”

“She-” chocking up now, Emma fought back tears, “She wasn’t- waking up.”

“Oh.”

The pair sat in silence, letting the gravity of what happened settle in. Eventually, they got up to head to school. The weight that had been lifted of Lewis’ shoulders with Emma’s apology was now twice as large. He needed to protect Cleo, he needed to, and he didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a heavier chapter, this one. Ugh, the characters seem so OOC in this chapter. I’m excusing it by saying that it’s because Rikki is still mostly an outsider and Lewis is only really close to Cleo but, yeah… This chapter was harder to write. I actually had another chapter two all but finished before scrapping it because Lewis was so OOC he was practically an OC, this one is at least better than that. The next chapter hopefully will be easier to write bc it’s not a heavy Lewis-central episode.

**Author's Note:**

> *I still hate my own choice of wording. However anytime I proofread the story I'd laugh at it so it stays.
> 
> Don’t expect consistent or frequent updates. Chapters will finish when they finish. I won't always have time to get them out on a schedule especially with school starting again in a few weeks.  
> Anyway, if you liked it feel free to follow/favorite. And leave a review if you have the time. I’d love some feedback.


End file.
